Thanks guys. I think I'll stick with BA/AA whenever I can and only fly SA when the tickets are significantly cheaper. I'm doing a lot of TATL, Africa, and Asia in that order. I figured the 50K in bonus miles forgone for Gold with SA is too great of a trade off.
I also have Priority Pass Select that would grant me Access to most SA lounges (except UA) And I did slip into the DEN Red Carpet with my Amex Centurion.
Just couple more years until I hit 2MM with AA then the same question all over again...